CAN 2023 : Ivory coast crowned African champions in front of home crowd
Incredible but true. Ivory Coast wins the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2023) ahead of Nigeria. Just two weeks ago, after the group stage matches, dreaming of this seemed impossible, but the Ivorian miracle worked until the end of the competition. The Elephants, under the coaching of Emerse Faé, lift the continental trophy for the 3rd time in their history.
From humiliation to victory. Ivory Coast, salvaged for the round of 16 after their humiliating defeat against Guinea Equatorial’s Nzalang Nacional, has just been crowned African champion after a final match this Sunday, February 11th, against Nigeria’s Super Eagles. The scoreline stands at 2-1 after 90 minutes.
A victory that Ivory Coast owes to Sébastien Haller and Franck Kessié, authors of the two goals in the second half, while the Elephants were trailing in the first part of the game against Nigeria, who opened the scoring thanks to William Troost-Ekong’s header in the 37th minute, rising above the Ivorian defense to beat goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.
In the second half of the match, it was Franck Kessié, who, from a corner kick, allowed the Elephants to equalize with a header in the 62nd minute.
In the 81st minute, it was Haller, who redirected the ball into the net at the near post from Adingra’s cross, thus scoring the second Ivorian goal, which sent the Olympic Stadium in Ebimpé (Abidjan) into raptures and brought joy to the Elephants’ supporters. An exceptional turnaround for a team that was on the brink just 15 days ago and was saved thanks to Morocco’s victory over Zambia.
This victory for the Elephants at the CAN after 40 years of waiting is the result of Emerse Faé’s good tactical choices, who replaced Jean Louis Gasset, dismissed after the humiliating 4-0 defeat against Guinea Equatorial.
